# Medicare NCD 110.6: scalp hypothermia during chemotherapy

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/medicare-ncd-110-6/  
OnCo record `medicare-ncd-110-6` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Medicare's national payment rule for scalp hypothermia given with chemotherapy: the ice packs or devices may count as supplies, but Medicare recognises no separate charge for them.

## Summary

United States, Medicare National Coverage Determination 110.6, version 1, which CMS describes as "a longstanding national coverage determination" whose effective date has not been posted. It notes that keeping the scalp cool during chemotherapy has been reported to reduce hair loss, by ice-filled bags or bandages or by devices filled with cold-producing chemicals. Its whole coverage statement: "While ice-filled bags or bandages or other devices used for scalp hypothermia during chemotherapy may be covered as supplies of the kind commonly furnished without a separate charge, no separate charge for them would be recognized."

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: NCD 110.6
- Tags: us

## Notes

- The NCD predates the FDA clearances of the current cooling-cap systems and does not name any device.

## Sources

- CMS Medicare Coverage Database: the NCD: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncd.aspx?ncdid=147&ncdver=1
- CMS Coverage API: the NCD text as data: https://api.coverage.cms.gov/v1/data/ncd?ncdid=147&ncdver=1

## Connected records

- technologies: [Scalp cooling (cold caps: DigniCap, Paxman)](https://onco.cc/technologies/scalp-cooling/)
- institutions: [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)](https://onco.cc/institutions/cms/)
- terms: [Hair loss and scalp cooling with breast cancer chemotherapy](https://onco.cc/terms/hair-loss-and-scalp-cooling-breast/)

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